The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has announced a 60-day delay of the effective date of the Competitive Bidding Interim Final Rule, to April 18, 2009.
According to the American Association for Homecare, the announcement came one day after comments on the rule were due to the agency and just weeks after a memorandum from White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel recommending that all federal agency heads consider "extending for 60 days the effective date of regulations that have been published in the Federal Register but not yet taken effect...for the purpose of reviewing questions of law and policy raised by those regulations."
AAH comments to CMS on the rule, submitted yesterday, stated:
"CMS did not fully consider the circumstances driving Congress' decision to delay Round One under § 154(b), even though CMS was fully engaged at every stage of the negotiations and understood what Congress wanted to accomplish. By rushing to publish the IFR, CMS closed any possibility of addressing on a public record, stakeholders' recommendations or objections to moving forward with a new Round One. When the IFR is analyzed in this context, we see important reasons to delay its implementation for at least 60 days so that the new Administration can fully vet all the relevant factual, legal, and policy issues surrounding this rule."
A number of HME stakeholders expressed concern about the rule at the House Small Business subcommittee hearing held last week by Congressman Heath Shuler (D-NC).
"I hope that CMS will circle back and conclude they should work with homecare providers through the PAOC and other means to make sure the reimplementation is free of flaws," said AAH president Tyler Wilson. "Or better yet, CMS should work with the HME community to convince Congress that the bidding program will harm beneficiaries and providers alike and should be scrapped."
According to the February 10, Federal Register notice about the IFR, "The competitive bidding rule implements certain MIPPA provisions that delay implementation of Round 1 of the competitive bidding program; requires CMS to conduct a second Round 1 competition (the "Round 1 re-bid") in 2009; and mandates certain changes for both the Round 1 re-bid and subsequent rounds of the program, including a process for providing feedback to suppliers regarding missing financial documentation and requiring contractors to disclose to CMS information regarding subcontracting relationships."